Saturday, December 31, 2011

Wilde Favorites - 2011

The stats of 2011 tell a very sugary tale in the Wilde kitchen. Four of the five fan favorites from this year were a part of candy challenge 2011, but were they my favorites? I actually have a whole different set of favorite recipes from this year. These are things that I have made again and again this year, proving that they are a keeper in this kitchen. They also prove that I did in fact eat more than just sugar this year...

5. Rosemary Foccacia - This foccacia was made early in the year as a part of my attempt to make it through the Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge. I didn't finish the cookbook this year, but luckily I made it to the 'F' recipes. This foccacia, while time consuming, was a lot of fun to make and totally amazing to eat. Even though this recipe made an entire baking sheet full of focaccia, I ate the entire slab. The majority of it was made into sharp cheddar paninis and greedily eaten without a napkin.

4. Indian Pizza - I made a bunch of different pizzas this year and this was by far my favorite. The chicken curry beneath the mild mozzarella made the perfect pairing that made me not want to share any of this. I tend to make this dish during the summer, otherwise the apartment smells like curry for a week! Next year I plan to make more strange and delicious pizza flavor combinations.

3. Thanksgiving Potato Pies - This meal was a total winner with everyone that ate it. Boyfriend and I didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, instead I made these bad boys for us earlier in the week. They were declared "The best thing you've made, ever." I want to make them again and again, changing up my potato pie mix-ins.

2. Coconut Joys - Okay, of course one of my top 5 had to be from the candy challenge. While there were very few challenge recipes that didn't win praise, these were my all-year favorite. Compared to a Bounty or Mounds bar, they were spot on for the store-bought candies. I ate the vast majority of these before they even made it to work.

1. Buffalo Mac 'n' Cheese - Something that I first had at S'Mac in New York City, I decided that I wanted to have it all of the time. The combination of Buffalo sauce and blue cheese makes this dinner absolutely fantastic. I've made this recipe again and again because I love it and so does boyfriend! If you're in the mood for something a little Upstate NY, throw this together and enjoy.

There we have it! My top 5 recipes for 2011, don't they look delicious! Now you can see that I did indeed eat more than candy this year, although it was a sweet year in many, many ways. Here's to a great 2012, I look forward to seeing you all there!